Rolls-Royce announced plans to sell its electric flight division to focus on its core businesses. AeroTime reports: The sale of the electric business division could bring in between 1 and 1.5 billion pounds to Rolls-Royce coffers. In this regard, Rolls-Royce is betting on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as the main driver of decarbonization for the aviation industry. All of Rolls-Royce’s in-production engine types will be able to run on 100% SAF. The engine maker is optimistic about its new UltraFan, an improved efficiency engine technology which was successfully tested earlier in 2023. Rolls-Royce expects UltraFan engines to power both widebody and narrowbody aircraft in the future. Rolls-Royce also noted that it sees opportunities in the executive aviation segment and is targeting 8-9% growth in Pearl engine deliveries.
Rolls-Royce is currently in the middle of a restructuring program to turn itself around and boost profitability. The pandemic had a strong impact on the engine maker, as the company’s service revenues depend heavily on the number of hours engines are in use. [CEO Tufan Erginbilgic] said he expected the group to increase its profits to the 2.5-2.8 billion pound range, up from the 0.65 billion pound profit it reported in 2022. The civilian aerospace division is expected to make the largest contribution to this turnaround and reach profit margins of 15 to 17% by 2027 (compared to the group’s goal of 13-15%), up from the meagre 2.5% it reported for the last fiscal year. New submitter HammerOn1024 comments: “They are SELLING not shutting down, so keep the harping to a dull roar please.”
